EAGLES: McCoy content to share workload in up-tempo offense

In Chip Kelly’s practices, LeSean McCoy says the Eagles run more than double the offensive plays they used to because that’s how they want to play when the season starts.

Instead of 40 snaps, the Eagles rip off 100.

If the Eagles are going to play at warp speed and involve the running backs as Kelly did in shattering offensive records at Oregon, McCoy is going to need help. The workhorse back says he has no problem sharing the touches with Bryce Brown.

“And don’t be surprised if Chris Polk gets some carries because you’re running so much it’s like a freaking track meet,” McCoy said after practice Thursday. “It’s like a relay.”

Kelly is off to a pretty good start. It’s a coup just getting McCoy to embrace what basically will be sharing a featured role.

“It’s not a debate of ‘aw, I can do it myself,’ because for one you’re going to do more plays than any offense,” McCoy said. “I mean, even the practices, the amount of plays we’re doing, the amount of hits from just doing it. You’re just running so much. If you’re faking it or you’re running it or you’re passing or not, you’re constantly going. And I think any back no matter how great of shape he’s in, he’s going to need some extra help. And I know that.

“Every team has two good backs.”

At the same time, McCoy is a bit skeptical of how well Kelly’s fast-break offense will work in the NFL.

Whether it’s playing up-tempo or communicating plays in what he described as “sign language,” it’s a major transition from McCoy’s four seasons under Andy Reid, who turned him into a Pro Bowl back.

“I have confidence for sure,” McCoy said. “But I think you kind of get that confirmation when you really go out and play against a defense — even your defense in camp. If it’s successful then it gives you more assurance that it’s going to work. You get that feeling where you’re curious because you haven’t done it yet. But every day you see it and it looks promising. It’s kind of in the middle to be honest. You can’t go off of something you haven’t done yet. But as far as practicing and learning, I feel confident about it.”

From what McCoy has seen of Kelly’s system, the way the Eagles practice and the way they’re supposed to play, he thinks the squad is going to end up in the best shape of any team in the league.

“I mean, there’s never a time where we’re breaking,” McCoy said. “We hustle to workout, lift weights, everything. Even the meetings are fast. That high tempo, that high pace I think is a different pressure for a defense because you only get that 30 seconds rest. We’re shifting, moving. There are no celebrations after the play. It’s strictly, let’s do the next play and go. I want to say by the second or the third quarter teams are going to be tired as you’ve seen at Oregon. That’s how they really win all of their games. They get points. They score so fast. As a defense you don’t really get a chance to adjust because you’re moving so much.”

Beyond tempo, the Eagles likely will run a zone-blocking scheme that gives backs a choice of hitting the backside. In the passing game McCoy anticipates getting the ball in a space where he can be lethal.